As a new analysis by Johan Norberg shows, the regime many MAGA Republicans see as a model to emulate has repressed civil liberties, undermined the free market, destroyed the rule of law, and made Hungary the poorest nation in the European Union.
Finally given a chance to influence trade policy, the vast majority of House Republicans decided it was more important to keep President Donald Trump happy.
Many conservatives are embracing big government, from police-state immigration tactics to socialist economic policies.
From COVID-19 lockdowns to Biden's inflation and Trump's tariffs, bad things have happened when economics are sidelined in policymaking.
The tariffs have generated less than $300 billion in new tax revenue, and other claimed investments don't come close to the president's tally.
"Nobody ever said that to be a good natcon you have to love Jews," Hazony declared at last week's National Conservatism Conference.
Trump promised that protectionism and immigration enforcement would be good for the economy. The latest jobs report tells a different story.
The Government Accountability Office says shrinkflation accounted for just 0.06 percentage points of inflation from 2019 to 2024.
Both are prone to promoting government planning and control of the economy, and both have common flaws.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has floated several deals that would involve the feds taking a piece of an American company.
The right number of dolls? As many as your kid wants.
America is not a department store. And no successful department store would be following Trump's antitrade strategy.
"I've been very vocal about congressional authority under a Democratic president or now under a Republican president," the Washington state congresswoman tells Reason.
Trump's comment about how "dolls" will "cost a couple of bucks more" is the latest in a long trend of nationalist conservatives disparaging affordable stuff.
There were no deals. There were no wins. There was no plan.
By imposing massive tariffs on foreign-made cars, Trump is punishing key allies, tanking Slovakia’s economy, and undermining U.S. influence in Eastern Europe.
It's obvious that tariffs will harm American companies that import goods. But the losses don't end there.
Economic historian Phil Magness on the real history of tariffs and why Trump is so wrong about them.
Plus: A listener asks the editors to discuss the pros and cons of homeownership.
What did we learn from yet another escalation in the North American trade war? Not to do it again.
And higher gas prices will make it more expensive to move goods around the country.
Drone maker DJI claims the Pentagon has unfairly smeared it as an arm of the Chinese military based on a mix-up of Chinese names.
A new report shows that politically connected companies were better able to navigate the exclusion process and avoid paying tariffs during the Trump administration.
Yes. But there might be one more key opportunity to rein in presidential powers over trade.
A lot more than Oren Cass and J.D. Vance want you to think, and Americans wouldn't like the tradeoffs necessary.
And probably because Republicans have foolishly abandoned it as a unifying theme.
Untangling the roots of Vance's odd political evolution.
The former presidential candidate discusses the ideological tensions within the America First movement.
If voting was the solution to the ills of America's working class, wouldn't it have worked by now?
The Ohio Senator is one of the Party's leading advocates of protectionism, economic planning, and immigration restrictions.
"I don’t care to replace a left-wing nanny state with a right-wing nanny state," the onetime presidential hopeful said this week.
In 2017, the last full year before Trump's tariffs were imposed, America's overall trade deficit was $517 billion. By 2023, it had grown to $785 billion.
Vance thinks that jobs lost because of incompetent central planning don't matter—but that jobs lost to immigrants do.
Vivek Ramaswamy isn't the first to advocate this badly wrong idea. But there's still no good justification for it.
"The scale of trade barriers proposed by candidate Trump is unprecedented."
It's a good thing opponents of the move can appeal to the liberal values of free speech, free association, and equal treatment under law.
Vance's latest gambit is pretty nonsensical, intellectually embarrassing, and obviously self-serving. But that doesn't mean that it's not dangerous too.
Breaking down Rubio's factually flawed and logically incoherent call for more government involvement in the economy.
Economic nationalists are claiming the deal endangers "national security" to convince Americans that a good deal for investors, employees, and the U.S. economy will somehow make America less secure. That's nonsense.
And the real kicker is that Intel was probably going to create those jobs without taxpayers funding anything.
Both companies consented to the deal. Why should they have to get permission from the president to do business?
Just say no to empowering government actors to put their thumbs on the scale on behalf of certain sectors.
Should there be any limits to a president's power to centrally plan the economy? Apparently not.
His speech in Davos challenged the growing worldwide trend of increased government involvement in economic affairs.
Companies based outside the United States employ 7.9 million Americans. Foreign investment isn't something to be feared or blocked, but welcomed.
The Cato Institute has posted a Spanish-language version of the article I coauthored with Alex Nowrasteh.
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